On this Wordless Wednesday I wanted to share the face I get all day long. This is our youngest son, a total ham, and one of the faces I love with all my heart.
Wordless Wednesday – The Face
Wordless Wednesday – The Face
Wordless Wednesday – The Face
Paleo Pork Tacos
January 22, 2013 By
Paleo Pork Tacos
Paleo Pork Tacos
We LOVE tacos in our home. Matthew is particularly fond of anything Mexican, but we needed to move away from the beans and corn that come in traditional tacos or other Mexican fare. That is when we decided to make Paleo Pork Tacos. I love the idea of using lettuce cups instead of tortillas. There are so many great reasons to love this change. First it is low calorie for people like me that are watching their calorie intake. Secondly it is super low in carbohydrates, again for people like me that may have diabetes or other reasons to stay away from simple carbohydrates. Thirdly, they meet the Paleo criteria which allows you to stay on a Paleo diet easily (the lettuce cup is a great Paleo trick ~ been around for ages). Lastly, the kids love it. They think it is neat to eat their food all rolled up in lettuce leaves. A bit messy, but who cares?
Pork anyone?
My husband loves pork tacos so I opted to use our pork he ground for us a few weeks ago when he smoked us a pork shoulder. These tacos turned out flavorful, not too spicy for little ones, and just perfect for a quick evening dinner. I hope you like them as much as we do. Feel free to adjust the spice, or throw some Cholula on the table so people can spice theirs up as they like.
Paleo Pork Tacos
Author: Matthew's Puzzle
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican Paleo
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 Tablespoon Chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 lb pork, ground
- lime juice from ½ a lime
- cilantro, chopped
- lettuce, leave cut out to make cups
- tomato, chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Melt coconut oil.
- Once hot, saute onions and peppers until onions begin to caramelize.
- Add seasonings and cook for a few minutes.
- Add pork and cook until pork is thoroughly cooked.
- Add lime juice.
- Add cilantro and cook a few minutes more.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve in lettuce cups topped with tomatoes.
- Wrap lettuce around filling like a burrito.
Mrs Meyer’s Clean Day Review
January 21, 2013 By
photo provided by Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day
Mrs Meyer’s Clean Day Review
Have you ever found a product that just met all your needs? That is how I feel with Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products. A few months ago I needed to pick up some countertop cleaner and some all purpose cleaner. While at my favorite local organic market I saw Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, it was reasonably priced and was available in some great sounding scents so I opted to buy some. I used the countertop spray for everything in the bathroom and couldn’t believe how well it cleaned. Then my usual floor cleaner had run out and I didn’t feel like running to the store so I used the All Purpose Cleaner on the floor and now I won’t go back. But I think the my favorite thing about Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is that it cuts through grease like nothing I’ve used before.
Mrs Meyer’s Clean Day Review: How Well It Works!
I have a hood over my stove that gets covered with grease from all the cooking we do. I hate to have to clean it because it is so difficult to wash. I always end up using a Mr. Clean Eraser and still it takes a bit of effort. Today I decided to try spraying a little Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Countertop Spray on the hood and wow, the Mr. Clean Eraser just wiped everything away. It was amazing. And the scent, I used Orange Clove (a seasonal scent), was refreshing and warm.
Mrs Meyer’s Clean Day Review: The Scents
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day has a new spring scent; Radish. It has a light floral fragrance that reminds me of Easter. Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day are available in other garden-fresh scents like Basil (a personal favorite), Lavender, Lemon Verbena, Geranium and Rhubarb among others. Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day include products that are biodegradable, packaged in recyclable bottles, don’t include ammonia, chlorine bleach, parabens or phosphates and are not tested on animals.
Where to Buy
If you want to purchase Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day you can head over to their website where you can still buy some of their seasonal products at discounted prices (they have Iowa Pine and Orange Clove). I have a personal affinity for their Iowa Pine scented soy candle. Or you can check them out at Target and pick up the Radish scented Liquid Hand Soap or Liquid Dish Soap. I love keeping a beautifully scented hand soap in all our bathrooms. It seems like such a luxury, but is really very simple. Which Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is your favorite?
iTrace iPad App
January 18, 2013 By
This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
photo provided by iTrace
Developing Writing Skills with iTrace
As the mother of a child with profound fine motor skill issues I know how hard it can be to get a child to write their letters properly. This has been a huge struggle for Matthew. He has such fine motor skill problems that we have had to work for years with an Occupational Therapist and he still does not have very good handwriting. That is where an app like iTrace comes in.
What I think attracts me most to iTrace is the fact that it offers a reward to the child. This is very important because when something is hard, like developing muscle memory, many children want to give up. With iTrace you can see them strive to write the letter correctly and get their virtual reward. The instant reward means so much to them, even though it is no more than a gold star on the iPad. What also makes this a fun app and therefore keeps the child interested is the fact that it is on the iPad. I don’t know about you, but in our home ANYTHING on the iPad is a good thing. My kids would do anything, even a non-prefered activity, just to get on the iPad. With iTrace they get something fun and educational, and it is on the tablet, really you can’t go wrong.
One aspect of iTrace that I particularly like is that the child can either use their finger or a stylus. Using the finger first, on such large letters, allows the child to learn the correct formation of the letter. That is something that Matthew has a problem with, and since he has been writing for a few years now, it is very hard to correct. He tends to make certain letters incorrectly and therefore they don’t look well formed and aren’t always legible. With iTrace a child learns correct letter formation with their finger first. Then they can move on to the stylus if you want. That is a great way to reinforce letter formation and develop muscle memory. But keeping that in mind iTrace does allow for “multiple methodologies” of letter formation. An example is how to form the number 8. You can correctly form it as to circles perched one on top of the other, OR as one continuous line like the infinity symbol stood upright. Either are acceptable methodologies and iTrace will allow for either formation.
photo provided by iTrace
I also appreciated that iTrace can be easily switched to a left-handed app. For me that is extremely important as Matthew’s left hand has always been stronger and that is now his dominate hand. Having an app that can accommodate that switch is so useful in creating that muscle memory and would allow him to be successful. It also makes it easy to switch back when another child wants to play with iTrace. iTrace supports multiple players and keeps a full history of each child’s work.
Where to Buy iTrace
iTrace retails for $3.99 at the AppStore.
